Woman arrested in alleged Craigslist-related kidnap attempt

LANSDALE >> A 25-year-old Drexel Hill woman being sought by Lansdale police for allegedly trying to kidnap a man she connected with through a Craigslist personal ad in January was taken into custody Wednesday evening by cops in Delaware County after a traffic stop, authorities said Thursday.

Lara Ashley Mountz, of the 4100 block of School Lane — who is behind bars in Delaware County and awaiting extradition to Montgomery County, Lansdale detectives said — had refused to surrender to Lansdale police on a warrant issued in early February charging her with felony counts of attempted kidnapping and aggravated assault, plus related offenses, in connection with the alleged Jan. 25 incident.

Police say that Mountz responded to an online ad the victim had posted on Craigslist seeking companionship, and arranged via a series of text messages to meet the man at his apartment on the 700 block of North Valley Forge Road.

Mountz, who had gone by the pseudonym “Lala” in her communications with the victim, showed up around 11 p.m. in a silver Nissan Altima and parked in the rear of the lot outside the man’s apartment, according to court documents.

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The pair met up in the parking lot and began to talk. During their conversation, according to police, a man and a woman approached them. The woman pointed a black handgun at the victim, ordered him to the ground and told him, “You’re coming with us,” an affidavit of probable cause indicates.

The victim managed to get to his feet and run while screaming for help, but the man caught up to him and held an unspecified object to his neck while the woman continued to point her gun at him, according to the affidavit. However, the victim was again able to get free and call for help as Mountz and the two assailants fled in the Nissan with Mountz behind the wheel, police said.

Officers responding to the 911 call found the victim in “emotional and physical distress,” according to court documents.

The subsequent investigation identified Mountz as “Lala,” according to court documents.

Lansdale police said Thursday that the man and woman who attacked the victim during the incident have not yet been identified but that they’re pursuing significant leads and “it’s only a matter of time” before they’re apprehended.

Mountz was still awaiting extradition to Montgomery County late Thursday afternoon.

Police said that she had also been wanted by Delaware County authorities for failure to appear for trial in February in a separate criminal case.

Court records indicated Thursday that on Jan. 5, Mountz was terminated from a Delaware County diversionary program in connection with a 2015 marijuana possession arrest by Upper Darby police and had been ordered to stand trial on Feb. 13 on a pair of misdemeanors filed in that case.